The Upper Cumberland Reacts To Kobe Bryant’s Death

Jan. 26, 2020, 2:24 P.M. EST.

This was the moment TMZ first reported that Los Angeles Laker and NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. It was news that made the Earth stand still immediately.

I remember where I was. I was in a Cici’s Pizza, getting some lunch with some friends in Memphis. One of them, who knew very little about sports, showed me the report and I remember being speechless. There was no way this could be real, right?

Unfortunately, it was. And it was only made worse later in the day when it was reported that Bryant’s daughter Gianna, 13, was with him. They, along with seven others, were gone.

“Disbelief,” Livingston Academy boys basketball coach Jimmy Miller said of his initial reaction to the news. “You have guys like that that we grew up watching, and Kobe was the same age as me. When I found out it was true, I was sick. That’s the best word to describe it; all day long, I was just sick for their family.”

Like many others, Miller and DeKalb County girls basketball coach Danny Fish each have daughters that they are raising just like Bryant was. This tragedy brought some perspective for each of them.

“Being what he said he loved, a girl’s dad, I have a girl and I know what he’s talking about,” Fish said. “I can understand him being very avid in the community of women’s sports and athletics…he always seemed to reach out and help people in different areas.”

Kobe Bryant will be remembered for all of that, as well as his NBA accomplishments. He was an 18-time all-star, a five-time NBA champion and a two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Games. He was named the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player and was named to the All-Defensive Team 15 times.

Many will remember his 81-point game against the Raptors in 2006, but Miller and Fish each have their own favorite memories from his time on the court.

“I can think of the lob-pass he made to Shaquille O’Neal in one of their playoff games,” Miller said, reminiscing about the famous play at the end of Game Seven of the 2000 Western Conference Finals. “When he drove the lane, drew the defense in and threw the lob to Shaq, the reaction he gave was like a little kid…he was a dominant force and one of the greatest to do it.”

Being a big Michael Jordan fan, Fish remembers the time when the two matched up together in the 2003 All-Star game.

“My favorite memory was when he and Jordan lined up against each other in the All-Star game,” Fish said. “It was fun to watch because it was almost a passing of the torch. (Jordon) was getting toward the end of his history, and I remember watching one of their games when LA was playing the Wizards and they went at it pretty good that night.”

For me, it’s easy. I remember watching Kobe’s final game against the Utah Jazz with some of my best friends. When the fourth quarter started and he began taking over, it was like watching vintage Kobe Bryant in his prime. I remember all of us telling each other to remember that night because we would never see another like it.

And we won’t, because there will never be another Kobe Bryant. Of everything that has come out of this tragedy, Fish hopes that this gives people a little more perspective in everyday life.

“We take things for granted way too much,” Fish said. “Do the best you can with what you’ve got today, because nothing is promised tomorrow. We all have heroes and we aren’t meant to be here forever. Find the people you love, love them every day and love them unconditionally; that’s all you can do.”